Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato today announced that his Veterans Diversion Program will be receiving outstanding financial support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA has awarded an initial grant of $237,986 to the County of Ocean in support of a Veterans Behavioral Health Partnership Initiative with a possible additional $1,293,037 award depending upon grant availability and program success.
According to officials, the total grant award proposal will manifest itself in a five-year project that will commence September 30, 2018 and run through to September 29, 2023. Based upon the availability of funds and satisfactory progress of the project the grant award summary for the life of the project is as follows: Year 1/ $237,986, Year 2/ $329,855, Year 3/ $329,839, Year 4/ $329,075, Year 5/ $304,268 for a total of $1,531,023.
Program co-directors for the initiative will be Dr. Jamie Busch of the Ocean County Department of Human Services and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Renee White of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office. One aspect of the initiative will be to continue the work of diverting veterans out of the criminal justice system and into treatment for mental health issues and/ or substance abuse disorders.
The Ocean County Prosecutors Office has been working on their Veterans Diversion Program with Ocean Mental Health Services since March of 2016. The grant award will allow OCPO to expand the Veterans Program, servicing more veterans without actually filing criminal charges.
Officials say the veteran initiative component was developed as Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office examined the need to improve services for individuals in the criminal justice system who have a serious and persistent mental illness, and whose illness has been a contributing factor to their justice system involvement.
As a result, the Ocean County Prosecutor-Led Mental Health Diversion Pilot Program was created in July 2014. The MHDP finished its first year where the program was responsible for the review of nearly one hundred files and the subsequent treatment and supervision of a dozen individuals who were determined to be program appropriate.
Throughout this initial process it was recognized by MHDP staff that applicants and participants with “veteran status” were requiring much more time and specialized treatment than other program candidates. It was at this point the concept of a separate diversion program for those individuals who have been military involved was born. By implementing an Ocean County Prosecutor-Led Veterans Diversion Pilot Program, the county now can enhance both its criminal justice and mental health support systems.
Goals of the Veterans Diversion Program include, but are not limited to:
1) increasing the amount of Critical Incident Training for certified police officers in the county who are veterans;
2) increasing the speed in which individuals with veteran status in the jail are identified and referred to the VA for screening;
3) increase the speed in which veterans in the jail engage in mental health/drug treatment in inpatient/outpatient settings;
4) increase the speed in which VA records/mental health records are acquired in order to facilitate proper assessment and treatment;
5) to ensure “continuity of care” in the treatment of veterans in the VDP; 6) to facilitate closer monitoring of medication administration and compliance.
According to authorities, it is also expected that sustainability of this program will be achieved through fewer jail days, decrease reapplication of cost savings achieved through the decrease in in additional delays, and the streamlining of criminal case files for veterans with serious mental illness.